A Season That Once Showed Promise Is Now A Season To Forget

Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

All in all, every regular season comes down to the question of which teams will make the postseason. On July 7, the Arizona Diamondbacks looked like one of those teams. They had won five straight, and led the Los Angeles Dodgers by 4 1/2 games for first place in the National League West – they were cruising. Fast-foward almost exactly one month, and the D-Backs currently trail the Dodgers by six games and have won just two games in their last eight tries. The team which showed so much promise throughout the first half of the season is, to put it lightly, struggling.

One of the team’s biggest issues in the second half of the season thus far has been their offense. Before the All-Star break, Arizona was shutout just one time. Since the break, which has not even been one full month yet, they have been shutout not once, not twice, but three times. No matter how good the pitching is, if a lineup can’t produce runs, the team can’t win.

Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Since June 8, shortstop Didi Gregorius is hitting a lowly .202 (23 for 114) with just four extra-base hits. Outfielder Gerardo Parra‘s averaged has dipped from .283 to .266 since the break and has recorded just one RBI. Numbers like these will just not get it done and unless multiple hitters can simultaneously catch fire, 2013 is looking like a lost cause.

On Tuesday night, the Snakes begin an eight game homestand against the Tampa Bay Rays, one which can define their season. Is it possible that the D-Backs can get a hot streak together and reach October baseball? Sure. But will it actually happen? No. They had a nice run, but were just unable to sustain it. See you in 2014, Arizona Baseball.